


Try A Little Tenderness

by nickelmd



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hugs, Human Impala, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-02-07 14:19:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 21,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1902207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelmd/pseuds/nickelmd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean thinks repressing all of his emotions is just as effective as dealing with them, until the Impala becomes human and starts leaking his feelings all over everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Therapists are Overrated

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea for one scene in this story, which turned into the story "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." I wanted to expand it, but wasn't sure I had the skill. I'm still not, but I'm trying anyway, because I love the idea so much. I'm basically starting over, but some version of that story will end up in this one. 
> 
> Uh, also, I know I put Castiel/Impala/Dean Winchester in the relationships as a precaution, mostly, but if you're looking for a full on threesome, you're *probably* going to be disappointed.

Driving is usually a calming experience for him. There are very few places he feels completely at home, but driving down the highway in his baby is one of them. 

Sam seems to think he needs a therapist or yoga or some shit, and Dean's not stupid, he knows everyone needs an outlet. But what's Dean gonna tell a therapist? "I think my time in hell may be affecting my ability to trust myself? I have abandonment issues that were exacerbated by the fact that my best friend, who happens to be an angel, refused to leave purgatory with me. I love my brother, but ever since my dad told me I might have to kill him, my ability to draw clear lines between his autonomy and my responsibility for him has gone to shit." 

So, yeah, Dean knows what his issues are, and convincing a therapist he's a psychopath isn't going to help. When he has things to be worked through, or emotions to repress, he drives. He caresses the dashboard and relaxes into the drivers seat and goes. It's not foolproof, but what is? 

He was supposed to be going out for supplies, but he's halfway to Kansas City and still feels like crap. It's two hours back to the bunker, more if he actually stops for the supplies he said he was getting. He adds explaining to Sam and Cas why it took him 5 hours to get beer and eggs to the list of things that suck about his life right now.

At the first exit he turns around to head home, but he can't help thinking about what's waiting for him when he returns. Sam's still mad as hell at him, with good reason, of course, but Dean doesn't have it in him to even pretend he would have done anything differently. 

Cas came home to the bunker after he fell, which was, well, just really fucking great, if Dean's honest with himself, but now he and Dean can't seem to figure out how to be around each other so much. Cas is oddly careful and formal with him, like this morning when he asked, "Would it be an imposition if I had a bowl of the fruit loops for breakfast, Dean?" 

Dean knows, logically, this shouldn't make him angry, Cas has only been human for about a month, after all, but Dean's trying so hard to make sure Cas feels at home and he still doesn't know he can eat any damn thing he wants? Dean sighs and adds, "I'm freaking out because I have a fallen angel living at my house, and I can't figure out how to tell him I want him to stay when what I really want is for him to be happy and I don't think those two things go together, which is just really fucking unfair," to the list of things he should discuss with his imaginary therapist. 

Dean does his best to push thoughts of Sam and Cas away. Clearing his mind by just focusing on the road and the growling sound of the Impala's engine. He's about 10 miles from home when he first notices a slight jerk. He knows Baby's in pristine condition, but he listens carefully and tries to determine if he needs to pull over. When nothing further happens, he puts it out of his mind. 

He's nearly home when the radio starts to cut out and the dashboard lights flicker. He barely has time to say, "Oh, shit," before he finds himself tossed out of the car, somersaulting down the asphalt, arms and legs entwined with something strong, with a cushion protecting him from the worst of the bumps along the way. The world whirls by in a jumble of arms, legs, flashing trees, and the hard black ground. Dean closes his eyes, lets his body become limp and waits for the momentum to subside.

When he finally finds himself laying still in the road, flat on his back, seemingly alive and relatively uninjured, but with a solid weight pressing against him, he opens his eyes. 

He's staring into dark brown eyes, with thick lashes, set in a round face with alarmingly deep dimples on either side of a wide smile. He recognizes that THIS is the weight pressed against him from chest to feet. He opens his mouth to ask her who she is, but before he can ask she dips her mouth to his, kissing him enthusiastically. He's so surprised by this turn of events he finds himself responding easily. Just as he realizes the more prudent response is pushing her off, she pulls back. 

She's smiling down at him, open and guileless, and, frankly, gorgeous. He knows he should be on his guard, but he finds himself returning her smile as easily as her kiss. At his smile, hers gets impossibly wider and she says, "That was awesome, Dean, can we do it again?"


	2. Something Familiar

Dean leverages himself up on his elbows. His eyes track all over her face. He's sure he's never seen her before, but he can't shake the feeling that he knows her. She obviously knows him. He decides to start there. 

"You...know me." He asks, but it doesn't come out as a question. 

"Mmmhmm," she answers, "I know you, Dean Winchester."

"Did you pull me out of my car?" He asks, but then realization hits and he feels sick. "Shit, my car..." He pushes her off his chest and stands. His hands are in his hair as looks for his baby. He had to be going 65mph when he was taken from the driver's seat. She can't be too far away, he only hopes she's not wrapped around a tree. "Shit. Fuck. Where the hell is she? Damn it, if she's totaled, I swear to god..." He trails off looking back at the strange woman who seems to be the most likely cause of this mess...the woman who'd kissed him. 

She's still smiling at him. Dean's a little dazzled by her dimples before he shakes himself and tries again, "Who the hell are you and where is my car?"

She steps forward, holding her arms in the air when he tenses at her approach. "Dean, you know me. I know you do. You...you have to." Her smile falters for the first time. 

"Don't play games with me. Where the hell is my car?" Dean demands again, but he doesn't deny her approach this time. 

"I'm fine. I’m right here, Dean," she says and then she's tucked up close to him again. Her arms wrap around him gently. 

Dean stands frozen for a moment as she wraps herself around him. He doesn't understand what's happening. Of course she's right there. That's not an answer to who she is or where his car is. Yet, she seems to think it is. He wants to yell some more, push her away and demand answers, but instead he finds himself returning her embrace.

"This feels so good. No wonder you like it so much. I had no idea." She's pushing her nose into his neck, rubbing against him like a cat.

In spite of the awkwardness of the situation Dean feels his body responding. He takes a deep breath to steady himself. His eyes widen in surprise. He takes her by the shoulders and leans in closely. She smells like the Impala. Like, in a Proust's madeleine kind of way. When he breathes her in he smells home. 

"Were you in the car with me? Can you...can you make yourself invisible? Cause I gotta say, that's not my favorite super power."

Her face turns a little dark at that. "No, we didn't like that trick one bit, did we?" As suddenly as it had appeared her frown disappears, replaced by something softer than he's seen before, "But things are different now aren't they?"

Dean isn't afraid to admit when he starting to get freaked out and this is definitely one of those times. His flippant reference to Cas' betrayal was out of his mouth before he could stop it, but her reaction, as if she knew what he was talking about, has left him a little shaken. She looks up and reads the hesitancy on his face. She steps close again, one hand coming to his cheek, "Dean," she starts,

"Who are you?" He asks again, barely breathing. 

"Oh, Dean, it’s ok, it's me, I'm....well...you call me Baby."

Dean takes a step back, holding out his hand when she moves to follow. "Stay back. You are not my car. You are a lady. All evidence is pointing to a crazy, delusional lady, but definitely not a car." Dean eases his gun from the back of his pants and points it at her before continuing, "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

The woman in front of him laughs and claps her hands delightedly. "You…you are very handsome when you're angry, but I am the Impala, just in a shiny new body. Now put that gun down so I can touch you. I don't seem to feel so well when I'm not next to you."

"I'm not putting this gun down until you tell me who you are and what you did with my car."

She heaves a put-upon sigh, "Dean…"

Dean holds the gun steady.

She shifts from foot to foot, finally bringing her hand up to the neck of her shirt and pulling it open revealing two small tattoos above her right breast, "S.W." and "D.W." written in an angular, childish script.

It's mostly shock that causes Dean to lower the gun. He stares at the marks on her skin and steps closer. They're not tattoos after all. He reaches out without thinking, glancing up to her face before touching the lines on her skin. When she smiles and nods his fingers trace the slightly raised letters. They're not tattoos, they're carved on her skin. He feels something hot and painful inside his chest. He knows she's telling the truth. He should find some holy water or pull his knife out of his boot, but he doesn't need to. He doesn't want to. He just wants…

When he looks up again she's still smiling, but her eyes are sad. "I'm so sorry," Dean feels something cracking inside. He manages to choke out a strained, "Jesus, I'm so sorry," before pulling her close and burying his head in her hair. She smells so good and he can't believe everything he's put her through. She's been the only constant in his life and she deserved so much more than the rough handling she's gotten over and over again.

Gentle fingers card through his hair. He hears a quiet, "Shhh, Dean, shhhh, it's ok." It's only then that he realizes he's crying, but he can't seem to stop. 

"Oh, Dean, you're so hard on yourself. I am a car, you know. I didn't feel it." Dean sobs a laugh into her hair, and feels himself calming down. He hugs her tightly before clearing his throat and stepping back.

"So, uh, what now?" he asks, uncertain.

She steps close again, winding her arm through his, "We go home! I can't wait to see Sammy."


	3. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (redux)

Sam hears the door creak open and immediately Dean's voice booms through the bunker, "Sam, Cas. I need you in here. Now." The urgency in Dean's voice makes Sam's skin prickle.

Dean's been gone for the entire morning with no explanation. Sam's used to Dean's 'fits of pique,' as he likes to call them, mostly to piss Dean off, but Cas has been stalking around the bunker like an angry cat, refusing to admit he's upset Dean hasn't checked in. Once it became obvious he wasn't actually on an errand to get beer and eggs Cas' pacing from room to room had started in earnest. Sometimes, lately most of the time, he wants to bang their heads together so hard they see stars.

He looks up to see Dean stepping through the door and is surprised to see a woman following behind him. Her eyes are wide as she takes in the bunker. She grabs Dean's arm as she looks around. The look on her face can only be described as beaming. 

Sam frowns. It's not like Dean to bring a hookup back to the bunker. In fact, as far as Sam can tell, it isn't like Dean to hookup much at all lately. Dean, however is not really giving off a relaxed 'just got laid' vibe. The woman glued to his side seems oblivious to Dean's tension. Well, maybe not oblivious. Sam sees her hand rubbing soothingly up and down Dean's arm.

"Oh, Dean. It's wonderful!" She reaches up and pats Dean's face affectionately, "I'm so happy for you."

Sam is watching Dean carefully. He looks like a time-bomb about to explode. Sam's familiar with this brand of Dean. Dean is clearly holding his emotions in strict check, which usually leads to an explosion soon or later. Still, he seems to melt a little at her touch, before clearing his throat and shaking his head.

She is definitely not someone Sam has met before. He thinks if Dean had ever mentioned her, he would remember, but her manner with Dean suggests she either knows him extremely well or not at all. Her open affection, indifferent to Dean's tense demeanor, suggests a possible mental condition or supreme obliviousness.

She glances down the stairs and looks directly at Sam, her eyes brightening, "Sammy!"

Sam stands dumbfounded while this beautiful, strange woman bounds down the stairs and throws herself into his arms. His arms encircle her without thought. He feels himself relax into her embrace. He glances up at Dean, who looks on the verge of tears and looks away when Sam meets his eyes.

She's tall. A few inches shorter than him. Maybe about Dean's height, or Cas'. Her dark skin is smooth and perfect. Her arms feel strong and solid wrapped around him. She smells comfortingly familiar. Sam wonders if it's Dean he smells on her. If this was a hookup, Sam can certainly see the appeal.

She pulls away, still holding both his arms, "Sammy. Look at you. I am so proud of you." Sam's breath catches. He looks over his shoulder at Dean who has descended the stairs and stands near them, looking heartbroken. When Dean notices him looking, he winces.

She reaches out and grabs Dean, pulling him close, an arm wrapped tightly around each of them. "Oh, my boys. This is amazing." She pulls Sam until he's close enough to kiss on the cheek, then turns to kiss Dean more enthusiastically and right on the lips.

The sound of Cas shuffling into the room draws Sam's eyes just as she presses her lips to Dean's. Cas stops abruptly, the book he's holding clattering to the ground, his eyes fixed on the sight before him. Dean looks up at the noise. He takes a step away from the woman, his ears turning pink and his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Cas' mouth works as if he wants to speak, but no words emerge.

Dean turns to the woman, "So, uh, yeah, this is--"

The stranger breathes out a long sigh, "Castiel." She turns to Dean and gives him a reproving glance, "You think you have to introduce me to Cas?" She turns back to Cas. Her face, already beautiful and smiling, softens further. She walks slowly to Cas, as if worried he might bolt if she startles him. She steps close and lifts her hand. Cas stands unnaturally still. He doesn't jerk away, but suspicion, and something that looks a little like anger, are written all over his face. She turns her hand and gently caresses the side of his face with her the back of her hand. She handles him carefully, like he's something rare and precious. "Oh, Cas. I'm sorry for what happened, but I'm so glad you're here now." Her other hand runs through his hair before she takes his face in both hands and kisses him softly on the lips, whispering something so quietly Sam can't hear it.

Cas eyes widen, all traces of anger drained away. He looks helplessly from the woman to Dean and back again. Dean has that strange look on his face again, like he might cry from watching this woman and Cas together.

She gestures to Sam and Dean without taking her eyes off of Cas, "Come here Sammy, Dean. I need all of my boys together." Sam looks at Dean for a clue on how to proceed, but Dean only steps toward her, like he's known her all his life. Sam wonders if Dean is under some kind of spell, but as weird as this is, he doesn't feel threatened. Sam follows behind Dean until they both get close enough for her to reach out and press all three of them into a hard embrace. Dean's head is pressed to her shoulder and Sam can feel him quaking softly. She leans in to press a soft kiss to the side of his head, "Dean, sweetheart. It's ok. I told you, it's ok." At those words Dean exhales and buries his head in her neck, holding on tight and fisting his other hand in the back of Cas' coat.

Cas looks from Dean to the woman to Sam, lost and uncomprehending. Sam looks at the woman more closely. Why does she seem so familiar? She looks up into his eyes and smiles, flashing mesmerizing dimples, "Don't you know me, Sammy?"

Dean takes a deep breath and steps back, "Uh. So, I had an incident on the way home. Sam, Cas, this is...uh..." Dean blushes furiously, "...Baby."


	4. Shushing Noises

When she finally releases the three of them from the hug, Cas stands still, unable to process the scene in front of him. He sees Sam speaking animatedly with Dean and...Baby, most likely asking for an explanation, but he hears none of it. There's hissing white noises shushing through his ears blocking out the conversation. 

That woman? Car? Car-woman? had kissed Dean. She had kissed him like she meant it. And Dean had, that is...he was, he had looked...definitely on board. But then she'd approached him. He's never had anyone look at him that way before. Sometimes he thinks he sees that look on Dean's face, but it's something that only exists in the corner of his eye, gone when he turns to face it.

Even now, she's up close to Dean's side with one arm wrapped securely around him. She's talking to Sam, but Cas sees her turning up to gaze at Dean with a dreamy look on her face now and again. Dean, for his part is flushed pink, and that makes the noise rush louder in Cas' ears.

The words she whispered to his lips sounded like a confession. "He loves you so much," she'd said and what does that even mean? And then she'd kissed him. Not like she'd kissed Dean, but soft and sweet. Her tenderness left him paralyzed, his brain on lock-down until it could sort out all of his conflicting feelings.

Gradually, the shushing quiets. Cas sits down resting his arms on his knees and his head in his hands, attempting to put his composure back on like armor.

The sound of the conversation finally rises to Cas' consciousness, "Look, Sammy, I told you, I don't know what the fuck happened."

"Dean you said you were going for beer and eggs and came back six hours later with a live human being instead of a car. How can you not have any idea what caused it?"

Cas looks up then at the strange trio before him, Dean's chest is puffed out in that way that he gets when he's angry. Sam's arms are folded and his head is tilted to the side, his body language screaming how little he buys Dean's story. Baby is looking at them both, with her mouth drawn tight. Finally she places a hand on each of their chests and says quietly, "Enough. That's enough."

Surprisingly, they both stop and turn to her. "You know I don't like it when you boys fight. Lord knows I'm used to it, but please don't. Not right now."

Dean deflates rubbing his face with both hands, before saying quietly, "Shit. She's right. I'm sorry. Jesus, this has been a hell of a day."

Sam exhales before replying, "Ok. Alright. We'll figure it out." He glances from her to Dean and back, "Are we going to, uh, keep calling you Baby?"

Her frown vanishes and her dimples light up her face, she clasps her hands in front of her. "I don't see why not. That's what Dean calls me and I like it."

"It's just, uh, a little..." but Sam seems to think better of what he was going to say and instead finishes, "Ok. No. That's good. We'll call you Baby."

She smiles at Sam, but there's a knowing twinkle in her eye that makes Cas thinks she knows how weird it is, but just wants to make Sam uncomfortable. As if she's reading his mind she looks at Cas, smiles and winks. The shushing noises rushes in his ears again, briefly. He looks at Dean who's looking between them with his eyebrows raised. Cas doesn't exactly understand what's happening to his emotions, but he thinks he'd like very much to have his wings right now, so that he could be 1000 miles away in the blink of an eye.


	5. Complicating Factors

Dean likes to think, on most days, he rolls with the weird pretty well. Accept it, work with it, fix it, move on. That's how his life works. But this is…he's not sure what this is. Is the weird thing that his car has turned into a smoking hot lady? Is it that she tongue fucked him on the asphalt or that Dean's had to recite the alphabet backwards 3 times to keep from popping a boner because she's been rubbing up against him like a cat ever since. Or is the weird thing that she looks at Cas like she thinks he hangs the moon, but also likes wants to see him naked? Dean can only thank God, or whatever dick angel is keeping an eye on things that she's not throwing herself at Sammy too, because his reactions to her are already so confusing as to be nearly incapacitating.

The thing is, she's hot, objectively. But Dean hasn't really been looking lately. It's not that Dean's not interested, but he just hasn't really been…it's just been complicated lately and he's not really looking for someone el--for someone. Every time he thinks about going out looking for a hookup, there's some reason not to, and, Cas…Cas needs him, he doesn't like to be too far away in case…in case…something, anything. He doesn't know, it's just complicated.

So even though she's objectively hot, Dean can't figure out why his body is 100% on board when he knows, intellectually, that the complicating, uh, factors, haven't really changed. It's just she leans in close and she smells like home and she feels so perfect that things kind of progress before he's even thinking about it.

And then there's her reaction to Cas, which WTF? She may be all over Dean, but she greeted Cas like he was the fucking answer to her prayers, and Dean thinks he ought to be jealous, maybe, but his first reaction was to start to cry like a goddamn baby, even though he didn't, because as much as this day is trying to prove otherwise, he still has a tiny fraction of control left, thank you very much. Still he definitely felt like his heart was going to break open and fucking unicorns were going to fall out. 

Only, now, when he thinks about it, he feels something entirely different and he can't figure out which is more disturbing. Because when he looks up at Baby and he sees her wink at Cas and sees Cas flush red from the top of his chest to his ears, he flashes back to the moment Baby grabbed Cas' face and kissed him right on the lips. And he can't help but wonder what would happen if she kissed Cas the way she kissed him. And suddenly he's wondering what Cas would look like after a kiss like that. And things in his pants are getting a lot clearer and things in his brain are getting a lot more complicated. 

"Dean!" Dean snaps his head to Cas, who's looking at him with an expectant air. It occurs to Dean this is probably not the first time Cas called his name, and he probably just needs to admit he's a terrible friend and the filthiest son of a bitch to ever grace the halls of the bunker.

"What, Cas, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm listening." 

"Would you mind if I, um, if Baby and I," he makes a motion toward the other side of the room, "for a moment?" Cas asks hesitantly. 

It takes a moment for Dean to switch gears and realize Cas and Baby aren't about to make out for his benefit. He pulls himself together enough to look at Baby. She's leaning heavily on his arm and looks surprised as her body's wracked with an enormous yawn. "Hey, are you up to talking to Cas?"

She smiles, "I'm always available for Cas." 

She says it in a way that's both innocent and suggestive and Dean really, really needs to put some space between himself and the two of them, so he abruptly says, "Great. Ok. Have fun. Sam and I'll be over here. Um. Not watching. The two of you. Talk or whatever." She looks up at Dean in a way that makes Dean think she knows every filthy thing that's gone through his head in the last 10 minutes and then she smiles at him and hides her wink from Cas before pulling her arms from around Dean and grabbing onto Cas.

Dean watches as they step off a little ways together. The back of Cas' neck is flushed pink again and Dean wonders if it would feel hotter than the rest of his skin. Then Sam is snapping his fingers in his face and asking, "What the hell is up with you dude? Come on, I have some ideas on where to look for what’s going on."

Sam turns to head down the hall. Dean follows slowly, reluctant to let Baby and Cas out of his sight. He glances back one last time and sees that she and Cas are sitting on the couch next to each other. Cas is speaking in a calm tone, but Dean can't hear what he's saying. Baby lays her head down on his shoulder and Dean turns away to follow Sam out of the room.


	6. Waiting for the Drop

Once Sam and Dean are far enough away Sam says, "So…Baby…she's, um, something else, huh?" 

Dean's head is still turned toward the main room, even though he can no longer see Baby or Cas. "Huh?"

"I mean, she's…I don't know…she seems like your type."

"What? Sam. Gross. First of all, she's a car. Second of all, she's been human for like an hour. I'm not gonna," he makes an aborted hand gesture, "I'm not going there."

Sam fixes him with a pointed glare, "Well, that kiss might have been sending some mixed messages then."

"God dammit, Sammy. It's not like, I mean, I didn't start it. What was I supposed to do?" 

"Look, Dean. I'm not surprised your attracted to her, all right? Not considering the way you practically make love to that car on a daily basis. I mean, it seems like she likes you, right, and at least she isn't afraid to show it. That's not a bad thing, right? Maybe it could be good for you."

Dean stops walking and looks at his brother. Sam is veering dangerously close to referring to that which shall not be named. He's not really up to dealing with that right now, so he's just going to pretend he doesn't catch what Sam's implying. "Sam, it's just, man, what the hell? She's not going to be a woman forever, you know? We have to figure out a way to turn her back, so it isn't like," he huffs, frustrated, "It isn't like we're gonna live happily ever after."

"Who said anything about happily ever after? It's just, you've never been one to turn down a creature comfort, especially when one falls into your lap and then drapes itself all over you. What makes this different? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let yourself have this, even if it's just for a little while. That's all."

Dean stares. Yes, she's hot. Scorchingly hot. And when she looks at him and smiles his stomach kind of drops to his knees for a minute, but is Sam suggesting he should just be…fuck buddies…with Baby? It's not like Dean hasn't had his share of one-night stands, but he prides himself on making sure he and the person in question are on the same page. This is different, Baby isn't just some stranger looking for a fun night. She's his responsibility. And he's not really looking for that kind of thing right now anyway, not when…He opens his mouth to tell Sam all this, except the last part, but what comes out instead is, "It's not that simple Sam. Besides, I think she kinda has a thing for Cas."

Sam snorts. "Baby…has a thing for Cas? Is that what you're telling me, Dean? Were you not there when she stuck her tongue down your throat?"

"Well, yeah, what can I say, she's enthusiastic. She's new at this, I don't think she has the whole," he points his finger down and swirls it around a few times, "appropriate affection thing down yet. But, the way she looks at Cas. That…that means something."

Sam stares at him, mouth agape for a minute before he says, "Have you ever heard about that thing where pets start to look like their owner?"

Dean does a double take, wondering where that came from, "What? What are you talking about? What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

Sam huffs a laugh, "Nothing, it's nothing. Come on, let's go."

When they get to the storage room, Sam loads him up with half a dozen enormous books and stacks two boxes that he carries himself.

When they get back to the main room, Cas and Baby are standing close to each other waiting for them. As soon as she sees Dean her eyes light up, "DEAN!" She moves to close the distance between them, but her hand doesn't leave Cas' so he is pulled along behind her. When she reaches him, she places her free hand on his cheek and leans up to kiss him on the lips again. Dean tries to keep it chaste, especially since he can feel Cas' eyes on him, but after a second she pulls her other hand, still entwined with Cas' up to his face awkwardly and deepens the kiss. Dean's eyes involuntarily slip shut and when he opens them again Cas is looking right at him, red staining his cheeks and his pupils blown wide. 

Dean feels like he's Wile E. Cyote and he's just run off the edge of the cliff. He's waiting for the drop when Baby pulls back and Cas clears his throat. "Food," he says abruptly.

Dean's shocked enough that he forgets about falling, "What?"

"I mean, Baby needs food," Cas begins, "I've shown her where the bathrooms are, now she needs food and then sleep. It's been a long day. We need to remember she only just became human. She isn't always going to be able to tell us what she needs, as she may not know herself."

Now that Dean looks at her, she does look a little frayed around the edges. He looks up at Cas, impressed and then remembers that Cas knows exactly how it feels to wake up human and have no one to help you figure out what you need to know. Dean's done his best to make up for it since Cas arrive at the bunker, but he'll never be able to go back in time and be there at Cas' point of impact to walk him through his first few days as a human.

"Cas pointed out that now that I'm human I can't just wait around for you to take care of my every need, Dean. At least for as long as I'm human, I need to figure out how to take care of myself." Dean feels strangely hurt. He knows it isn't exactly healthy, but he would do it, take care of her every need, if he could. Cas' too, though his attempts to take care of Cas have only met with middling success. Maybe that's why. He looks over at Cas with a frown. Cas is trying to learn how to take care of himself and Dean keeps throwing himself in the middle and making a bigger mess than they started with.

Dean sighs and tries to chivvy his mind back to the matter at hand. He plasters on a smile and says "Ok, Baby needs food. Let's do it. Who wants burgers?"

Baby's eyes light up at the prospect, so he says, "Ok, burgers it is. Who's gonna hot-wire a car so we can get there?"

Sam answers, “I have a better idea, let’s go see what’s in the garage.”

Dean rubs his hands together gleefully and says, “OOOh, yeah. I’ve been looking for an excuse to take one of those babies out.” 

“Hmph. Well, I guess we can see if one of those old hunks of junk will even start,” Baby says, surprising everyone.

“Wait, you know what’s in the garage?” Dean can’t help but ask. 

“I’ve been parked in there since you found it, haven’t I?” She answers, chin up, hands now loosely at her sides.

“Uh, right. Ok, then. Let’s go,” Dean says waiting for Baby to take his arm again, but she just follows Sam, dragging Cas behind her, as he leads the way. Dean tries not to feel disappointed.


	7. It Doesn't Even Have A Cassette Player

The walk down to the garage is quiet. Baby has a weird feeling in her chest. She doesn't really like it. She doesn't even really know how to describe it, but it's that feeling that is keeping her from pulling Dean close to her, and she definitely doesn't like that. But still, she can't seem to make herself reach out. 

Next to her, Cas' ears are a little pink and his hand is sweaty in hers. She looks at him and sighs. He's so beautiful. She doesn't think she's ever seen anyone so beautiful. He's flawed and perfect and she loves him to a frightening degree. When she first reached out to touch him, she was afraid he'd disintegrate under her fingers and blow away, but he's still here, by her, holding her hand and telling her about being human and making the strange ache in her chest bearable. 

She can feel the way he loves Dean radiating from him in waves. They're long and undulating, fathomless like the ocean, but with a hidden pulse that's urgent and demanding. There's a possessiveness too, barely there, as if it's been carefully secreted away within a wall of patience. She wants to take off all of her clothes and swim in it, rub it on her skin until it sinks all the way into her bones.

Sam's love for Dean is like a river. Strong and sure, but with rocks that have jagged edges in the shallows, capable of hurting them both. There are deep places where the current sometimes catches them both and nearly drowns them. Sam is trying to learn to chart the river. He wants to note the shallows and the currents and keep them both safe. Dean's used to swimming in the whole river and doesn't understand what Sam means when he asks him to stay in the boat. 

When they enter the garage, Baby feels small in her new body. Dean strides across the garage heading straight for a bright red 1957 Chevy Bel Air. It's impressively shiny, with a white top and graceful fins in the back. Baby doesn't think she could hate it more, but then Dean's hands are on it, stroking over the hood. 

"I think this one would work. A little flashy for driving into town, but it should be ok," Dean says quirking his eyebrows expectantly.

"It's flashy alright," Baby mumbles, not really meaning to be heard. Cas frowns down at her. "You know, Cas, it doesn't even have a cassette player. How are you supposed to listen to Zep without a tape player?"

Dean looks up, but seems to have missed the exchange. Louder, she says, "I don't know. Only if we can get it started. I wouldn't count on that."

Dean smiles at her, "Only one way to find out. Hey, Sammy, throw me the keys."

Cas turns to her. His mouth opens briefly, then he purses his lips. She hears Dean open the door to the Bel Air and she looks at Cas expectantly. He tries again, "Baby, are you---" The sound of the Bel Air’s engine roaring to life cuts him off. 

Dean leaves the car running and jumps out. He flings his arms wide and says, "Eh, see?" He walks over to her. He reaches out and brushes up and down the length of her arms, "It's gonna be fun." That feeling in her chest tightens and she drops Cas' hand to cross her arms. 

"Dean," Cas begins quietly, "Can I speak to you…privately…for a moment?" Dean looks curiously between Cas and Baby.

"Uh, right now?" Dean replies, eyes still darting between them.

"Yes," Cas says firmly, "right now."

Dean stands up straighter, the way he does when he's bracing himself for bad news, and walks toward the door of the garage. Cas gives her a small smile before following Dean out the door.

"So," Sam says from right next to her, "does it feel weird? To be here?"

She smiles up at him. She can see all the questions burning behind his eyes, but he won't ask until he knows she's ok. "It's different. It seems," she stretches her arms out to the sides, "bigger," she shrugs, "colder."

The garage door opens and Dean and Cas return. Cas looks solemn. Dean looks chagrined, but he quickly disguises it. "What are we waiting for, my baby's hungry. Sam, you're driving."

"What? Dean, you've been dying to take one of these cars out." Sam says.

"Well, yeah," Dean says, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, "I guess I'm not in the mood to drive. It happens."

"Uh. No, it doesn't." 

"It does now. For God's sake, Sammy, will you just drive the car?"

Sam looks between the three of them thoughtfully, "Yeah, sure, sorry, of course."

"So Baby, you want shotgun or do you want to sit in the back with Cas," he licks his lips nervously, "or you could sit in the back with me, if you wanted to."

The tight knot in her chest feels suddenly loose and floaty. A laugh bubbles out of her, "I'm not sure I've been human long enough to know if I'm the kind of girl that gets in the backseat with Dean Winchester, but we could try it."

It shocks a laugh out of Dean, "Yeah, ok, let's try it." Baby considers asking if Cas can sit in the backseat too, but she doesn't think Sam would like that. 

Dean stops laughing and looks at Cas, "Come on Cas. Shotgun for you." He reaches out and slaps him on the back. Cas nods seriously and follows them to the car.


	8. Footsie

Cas is quiet on the way to the diner. Baby is tucked up close, falling asleep nestled against him. Dean would like to deny that he likes it. He'd like to be able to say he's doing it because she seems to need it and whatever happened it's his responsibility, but the truth is it feels good. Too good. He looks at Cas' reflection in the rearview mirror, but Cas looks straight ahead, never glancing back.

Sam makes a couple of attempts at conversation, but stops trying when he can’t get more than a grunt out of Cas and Dean will only put his finger to his lip and glance down at Baby. The only sign of Sam's frustration is an occasional tightening of his lips and his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. 

When they finally reach the diner, Dean breathes out a sigh of relief and nudges Baby awake. Sam glances in the back seat and frowns, but Dean can't be bothered to figure out what's bothering Sam now. Cas steps out of the car as if the whole scenario were par for the course. Which, let’s be real, for the Winchesters, it kind of is.

Baby sits up, rubbing her eyes, "Where did I go?" 

"You were sleeping," Dean replies.

"Oh, Cas told me about that. It's like when I would run out of gas, right?"

Dean frowns, he never let Baby run out of gas, "Yeah, sort of, I guess. You're going to need more sleep soon, but eating a bit now will help you feel better."

Baby peers out of the windows at the diner and at Sam and Cas standing at the hood of the car waiting. "Well, ok. Let's not keep the boys waiting."

The four of them pile into the diner awkwardly as Baby has taken hold of both Dean and Cas' hands again. The way she's glancing around the inside of the diner makes it clear she's never been inside one, and Dean hopes it comes off more as a country cousin experiencing an exciting novelty and less like ‘these creepy dudes just let me out of their basement for the first time.’

Dean slides into a booth. Baby follows, but doesn't let go of Cas' hand. Sam slides in across from them making room for Cas next to him. Baby tugs a little at Cas, trying to pull him in next to her. Cas stands still looking from her to Sam uncertainly. Baby looks between Cas and Sam. She frowns and lets go of Cas' hand. Instead of looking relieved, Cas' forehead furrows, but he slides in next to Sam easily.

Baby cheers up instantly looking at the menu, "A bacon double cheeseburger, Dean! That sounds amazing. Oooooh, can I get french fries AND onion rings?" Once the orders are placed, Sam clears his throat. Dean looks up and can tell just from looking at his brother that they aren't going to be able to put it off any longer.

"So, uh, Baby," Sam begins, "Dean doesn't seem to have any idea what happened to you. Do you know…how…how you became human?"

Baby smiles indulgently at him. Under the table she has one hand on Dean's thigh. With her other hand she's playing with the straw in her water, putting her finger over the top, lifting the straw out of the water then releasing her hold on the top and watching the water run out. Dean vaguely wonders how she learned to do that.

She lets go of the straw and puts her chin in her hand, gazing at Sam for a long moment before she speaks, "I don't know any more than Dean does. I just kind of started…existing. The first thing I remember is rolling over the asphalt with Dean. That was exciting." She smiles widely and looks to Dean with a wink. Dean feels his face flush in spite of himself.

"See, Sammy," Dean says gruffly, "there's no point in going over this right now."

Sam's mouth goes tight, exposing two angry dimples, but he looks out the window and doesn't reply immediately.

Baby is swirling her straw again, looking down at her water and smiling. Cas’ head pops up abruptly and Dean's eyes are drawn by the movement. The look on Cas' face is somewhere between shock and embarrassment. Dean watches in fascination as Cas' cheek suffuse with red. Dean can't figure out what is wrong until he sees Baby looking up through her lashes at Cas and smirking. 

Cas obviously can't decide where to look, he darts through several options, his coffee, the napkin holder, Sam, and, very briefly, Dean, but whatever he sees on Dean's face has his cheeks burning even brighter. Dean has to resist the urge to look under the table to confirm that Baby is playing footsie with Cas. He doesn't actually need to look. It's the only explanation. 

Dean picks up his water glass in an attempt to stifle his smile, but it must be apparent anyway, because when Sam looks back at Dean he gives him a disapproving grimace. Dean doesn't even know what it's for, because Sam can't possibly know that Dean is ready to puke rainbows because his car is feeling up his...his Cas. Dean knows it's all kinds of wrong to be vicariously enjoying Baby's hidden flirtation with Cas, especially when Baby's hand is still rubbing his thigh, but he can't seem to care. He's so high on it, in fact, that when Cas accidentally let's his gaze fall on Dean again, Dean winks. 

If Dean thought Cas couldn't get any more red, he was wrong. Cas' eyes widen and his jaw drops before he stands up abruptly, bumping the table as he tries to scoot out of the booth, stuttering, "I…um…I need to use the restroom, ex-excuse me."

"What was that about?" Sam asks.

"What? Who knows, Sam. Cas is a weird dude. You know that." Dean says, but his high is gone as fast as it came. Baby, however, is still smiling watching Cas hurry to the restrooms. Dean rubs both hands over his face, trying to decide if following Cas to the bathroom to apologize will make things better or worse.

Figuring that not much could make it worse, Dean decides he should probably go check on Cas. When he announces this to the table, Sam just shrugs and Baby scoots out to allow Dean to pass. She takes his arm long enough to pull him down for kiss on the cheek before releasing him and sliding into the booth next to Sam.

When Dean opens the door to the restroom, Cas is leaning against the sink with both hands on the counter. There are wet curls of hair around his face and he looks resigned when he sees Dean come in. 

"Hello, Dean," he says.

"Hey, Cas." Dean stops, licks his lips and starts again, "Look, man, I'm sorry."

Cas tilts his head and looks questioningly at him. Dean's heart does a little flop at the familiar gesture. "Why are you sorry, Dean. You haven't done anything wrong. In fact, I think you're coping with this," Cas pauses as if searching for the correct word, "situation extremely well."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry anyway. And I know Baby's a little, um," Dean trails off, not exactly sure what he's trying to say, I'm sorry Baby is in love with you? I'm sorry I'm getting off on Baby feeling you up? Nothing quite seems like something he's going to be able to get past his lips, so he just finishes with a shrug.

"To be honest, Dean, I'm finding her attention a little…overwhelming." He looks up at Dean like he's worried he might be offending him. Dean just laughs.

"That makes two of us," Dean answers honestly. 

"Oh, ok, that's good. It's just…I mean I know she's new to humanity and I know she's not entirely clear on, um, well, personal space, as you might call it, but I'm finding it surprisingly difficult not to…" It's Cas' turn to trail off and he does, looking helplessly at Dean. 

Dean can't understand why Cas can't see that she's only reacting that way to him. She's not flirting with Sam at all, and Dean, well, she's flirting with Dean a little bit, but that's only because she's his car, it's natural that she feels an affinity for him, that she’s looking to him for some measure of comfort. But it's so obvious she loves Cas that Dean can't believe Cas doesn't see it.

When his brain processes that Cas has stopped speaking mid-sentence. He rewinds the conversation in his mind and finds another inappropriate smile bubbling to his lips. "Cas, do you have a boner for my car?"

Cas sighs with exasperation and rolls his eyes, "Well, not at the moment, no."

Dean can't help it, he laughs and throws his arm over Cas' shoulder, "Well, then, I guess we can go back and sit down, right?" Dean stops, one hand still on Cas’ shoulder, the other patting his chest, "We'll get through this, buddy, ok?"

Cas gives Dean one of his rare, dazzling smiles, the ones that leave Dean a little breathless and dizzy, before saying, “Ok, Dean,” and pushing out the door back to their table.


	9. Let's Just Pretend Nothing's Going On

By the time they get back to the table, Baby is still sitting next to Sam and the waitress is delivering the food. Dean slides back into the booth and after a brief pause Cas slides in next to him. Sam gives him an indecipherable look before stabbing his fork into his salad.

Baby lifts the burger experimentally with two hands and sniffs. "Oh, God, this smells amazing," she declares and takes a bite. She moans loudly after she swallows. Dean can feel his neck heating up, but he wills his body to relax. Cas is staring at his patty melt like it's a puzzle he's trying to solve. He is very pointedly not looking across the table. 

Cas eventually gives up his staring contest with his sandwich and begins eating. The quiet as the four of them eat is only broken by an occasional exclamation as Baby tries her fries or onion rings. Baby's right, the burgers are delicious, at least once Dean relaxes enough to enjoy the taste. 

Dean's just starting to think maybe if they can get through this dinner, go home and get Baby settled in for the night, he'll be able to lock himself in his room for a few hours and try to process the day without any awkward questions or accusations. His body relaxes at the thought. Just an hour, two at the most, and he'll have some much needed privacy to think.

Baby has slowed down on her meal, a few fries linger on her plate, but she's toying with them now, more than eating. Dean sees her look down and smile right before he see's Cas' head pop up again. He looks down quickly with a pained expression. Dean wants to laugh, but when he feels something dragging up and down his leg, the laugh gets caught in his throat. 

He's not as close to Baby as Cas is, so he can only feel a light brush up and down his shin. Somehow the thought that Cas is getting more thoroughly felt up is just as much of a turn on as the slow drag of Baby's toes. Dean tries to resist looking at Cas, but he can't help it. Especially not now that he knows Cas is having a hard time controlling his reactions to Baby's flirtations. 

Cas' has a look of intense concentration on his face. Just the thought that Cas could be, maybe? possibly? sporting a boner right now, causes Dean to take a deep breath and start naming state capitals in his head. He's not going to look. He's just not going to.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Sam asks.

Cas' head whips over to Dean. His realization that Baby is doing the same thing to Dean that she's doing to him is written all over his face. Dean almost wants to laugh again at the look of horror and confusion that flashes momentarily over Cas' usually stoic face. 

Dean knows feigning ignorance is the only option, "What?"

Sam sits back in his booth, arms crossed, "Cas looks like he just got caught watching porn," Cas' frown becomes an almost audible thing, "and you…" Sam finishes, "you look like you just got goosed and you liked it."

Baby thankfully has stopped stroking Dean's shin, but she's smiling sweetly between Sam and Dean like she has no idea what's going on. Sam is scarily close to the truth and Dean doesn't have a lot of options. 

"Your face just got goosed," he finally replies. 

Cas' snort surprises everyone at the table, including Cas. Baby beams at Cas like he's just cured cancer. Dean feels a little less embarrassed by his lame comeback, but Sam continues to eye him up and down like he thinks there's something to all of this Dean's not sharing.

"I think I need some air," Cas says quietly, "I'll meet you by the car."

Baby slides out of the booth at the same time and says, "I'll go with you, Cas. If you don't mind?"

Cas' face only changes a fraction, but Dean can read the tension there as Cas' eyes flick over to Dean. "No, of course, Baby. You're welcome to come with me."

Dean heaves a sigh as they walk out the door together. He rubs his hand over his face, "Jesus. What a fucking day." Sam just stares at him, quietly. "What, Sam, what is it?" 

"Nothing," Sam's voice is unexpectedly soft. Dean doesn't really need that at the moment, but he also doesn't have it in him to try to rile Sam up on purpose right now. He drops his head into both hands to regroup. "I'll get the bill, Dean. Why don't you head out there with Cas. I think he might need some help."

Dean's relief at Sam passing up this opportunity to scold him is short lived when he contemplates going out to referee whatever is happening between Cas and Baby. He pushes himself out of the booth. "Yeah, ok. Hurry it up, though, Sasquatch, I'm not interested in playing chaperone at the school dance longer than I have to."

"Right. Whatever, Dean. I'll see you in a minute." 

Dean can see Cas and Baby standing by the car. Surprisingly, Cas' body language is relaxed. Baby says something and Cas throws his head back and laughs. Baby's looking at him like he's still a literal angel, but she's not plastered to his side. She occasionally reaches out to touch him, as if she's punctuating her words, but Dean's not worried he's going to have to defend Cas' virtue. It's should be a relief, but he finds himself unable to name the strange combination of pleasure and jealousy he feels at seeing them relaxed and happy without him.


	10. Sleeping Arrangements

When Dean makes it out to the car, Baby smiles up at him and says, "Speak of the devil." Dean looks between the two of them, Cas is still smiling, but there's a tension to the way he holds his shoulders that wasn't there before Dean arrived. Dean does his best not to consider why that might be. 

He twirls the keys around his fingers. "What were you saying about me?" Dean asks, shooting for casual, but he suspects not really hitting it.

"Mmmm, just some of your more memorable exploits inside me," Baby replies with a mischievous grin. Dean looks at Cas who is refusing to meet Dean's inquisitive gaze. 

"Yeah, well, my life's one long series of memorable exploits. So that doesn't really narrow it down."

Baby pulls him in close and kisses his cheek. "You should drive home, Dean." Dean is momentarily thrilled, but Baby continues, "I'm sorry I got jealous. I've reconsidered my stance. I think it might be kinda hot to see you drive another car."

Dean can feel his whole torso heating up. He risks a glance at Cas. If Dean didn't spend so much time watching Cas, he might think the innuendo escaped him, but there's a small tightening around his eyes and tiny beads of sweat have broken out on his brow. "Yeah, ok," he finally chokes out.

"Good, and Cas will sit in the back with me, right, Cas?"

"Of course, whatever you'd like." 

Dean unlocks the driver's door and lets Cas and Baby into the back. Dean slides in and leans over to unlock the passenger door for Sam. Dean watches Cas in the rearview mirror. Cas is sitting stiffly on his side of the car, that is to say, exactly like he always sits. Baby is looking at him speculatively. She stretches theatrically. She scoots over closer to Cas. Cas seems oblivious to her movements, but his eyes flick up to Dean's in the mirror. Dean tries to send him an encouraging smile. 

Dean spots Sam heading for the car. After Sam slides in Dean glances back and Baby has nuzzled her way under Cas' arm and is looking sleepy and extremely comfortable. Cas' eyes are soft, but his hand dangles a little awkwardly like he's not sure exactly where to put it. It occurs to Dean that Cas isn't exactly ripe with experience on cuddling in cars. 

"Dean, are we waiting for someone else or what, dude?" Sam chides, "Let's go home. Baby'll be asleep before we get out of the parking lot at this rate."

Dean represses a sigh and takes them home. 

Baby doesn't fall asleep on the way home. Dean sees her sneaking adoring glances at Cas while Cas stares out the window unaware. Sam is quiet. Dean's only wish at this point is to not be the last person left alone with Sam, because he definitely doesn't have the answers Sam wants. All he wants is like 6 hours to bury his head in his pillow and forget about everything. He'll deal with Sam and everything else tomorrow.

Dean parks the car back in the garage. When everyone is out and heading back to the main room, Sam says, "Um, ok, I guess I'll go get a room ready for Baby…" but Baby interrupts.

"Oh no, Sam, I don't need that. I'll just sleep with Dean and Cas."

Dean can't help it that his eyes jump immediately to Cas, who looks, alarmingly, although only briefly, like someone just ran over his puppy. He's not even sure what damage control looks like in this situation, so he plows ahead, ignoring the implication, "Come on now, Baby, you'll feel better if you have your own place to stretch out."

"Like…the garage?" Baby asks, looking at him with her head tilted.

"Yeah, like that." Dean's relief is short lived.

"I've always preferred the nights you've slept inside me, Dean." Sam makes a strangled noise he tries to disguise as a cough as Baby continues, "I don't need my own space. I need you."

"Ok. Well, that's…ok…yeah, but, uh, Cas has his own room. Where he sleeps," Dean finishes lamely.

Baby looks up at him with wide eyes, "Cas doesn't sleep with you?"

Dean briefly wonders if he would accept it if Hell opened beneath him and offered to remove him from this situation. He steadies himself and replies, "No. I mean, I know you're new to this…stuff, but no."

"But," she looks between them with a worried frown, "you both…" she stops uncertainly before her face clears, "But I'm sure that's ok. I'm sure Cas doesn't mind. Right, Cas?"

Dean watches in fascination as Cas' face slides from panicked to neutral in an instant. When he speaks, it's careful, "I think Dean might prefer to have you to himself."

The laugh that bursts out of Baby echoes through the room, "Oh, I think that statement is only half correct."

Dean opens his mouth to try to salvage the situation, but before he can get his brain to function, Baby speaks again, "So, your only objection to joining us is that you're worried that Dean doesn't want you there?"

"That seems like a large enough objection," Cas replies neutrally.

"Well, then, problem solved, because Dean doesn't mind at all, do you?" Baby's face is a picture of innocence as she smiles at Dean.

Dean's heart stutters in realization. She knows. Of course she knows. She knows him better than anyone. He'd prayed to Cas hundreds of times from the Impala. He'd said things, alone in the Impala that no living person had ever heard. Oh god, more than once he'd definitely jacked off with Cas' names on his lips. Shit. He licks his lips nervously, afraid to reply.

Baby narrows her eyes at him and asks again, "Do you, Dean?"

Somehow it seems like lying to her right now would be a very bad idea, so he just shrugs and says, "Whatever you want. It's fine."

"But, Dean--" Cas objects.

"I said it's fine, Cas. But nobody's holding a gun to your head."

Cas looks pleadingly at her, "Baby…"

She approaches him slowly, like she had when she'd first arrived, "Please, Cas," she coaxes, reaching out and taking his hand in her own, "for me?"

Dean stomach does an uncomfortable flop when Cas replies, "Ok."


	11. Yeah, Right

The whole room is silent for a beat before Sam throws his arms in the air and says, "Yeah, ok. Good. Glad that's settled. You guys, uh, yeah…" and turns on his heels to head down the hall, leaving the three of them alone.

Dean feels separated from his body, like he's watching the three of them from a distance. He hears himself say, "First we need to get you something to sleep in." She's closer to Cas in size, though still considerably thinner in the waist. 

"I have some drawstring pants that might work. And a tshirt, of course." Cas says neutrally. 

The three of them head up to the main floor toward Cas' room. At the door, Dean hangs back awkwardly while Cas takes her in to get the clothes. "I'll, just, uh," Dean waves toward his room vaguely and excuses himself. 

Dean finds some sweats for himself and heads to the bathroom to change and brush his teeth. He takes his time splashing water over his face while he convinces himself this isn't weird and everything is going to be fine. 

He walks back into is room to find Cas standing awkwardly against his dresser and Baby bouncing on his bed. She's in a tshirt Dean recognizes as one that was a little too small for Cas. He hasn't worn it in a while, but the few times he had, well it had made quite an impression on Dean. Dean can see why he thought giving her his smallest shirt was a good idea, but the end result is that it's stretched tight across her chest in a way that makes it hard to look away. Dean wonders if that's why Cas seems to be studiously memorizing every item on Dean's walls.

Baby looks up happily. She stops bouncing. "I like your bed, Dean."

"Yeah," Dean says gruffly, "me too." He wonders if his memory foam will remember her once she's gone. Will it remember Cas once this night is over? The thought hurts a little bit, so he shoves it aside. 

"Uh, ok. I guess you're in the middle, Baby," he says as casually as he can. Cas' eyes are still everywhere, but the bed. 

Baby nods and crawls up the bed and lays down. "Ahhh, this feels amazing," she says, wiggling her way under the covers. Dean doesn't give himself any time to think about it, he just climbs in next to her. Cas on the other hand, hovers awkwardly near the bed. 

"Perhaps, I should---" Cas begins, his voice a touch higher than usual, but Baby interrupts. She reaches an arm out toward him, "Look, you fit right here," and pulls him down slowly.

Dean thinks 'fit' is a generous term. His bed isn't really large enough for three adults. Still, Cas slides in and Dean doesn't fall out. Cas lies on his back with his arms folded over his chest. Dean wouldn't be surprised if that's how he always slept. Dean decides to make his life easier and lays on his side facing out. He reaches over to turn off the lamp. One of Baby's arms snakes up his and lands in his hair. 

For a while Dean is acutely aware of the sound of no one sleeping. Then he feels Baby tug at his hair, "Dean." He rolls over to face her. He puts a hand on her hip. He can see her smiling in the dim light from the hall. "Yeah, that's better," she says. Then she reaches over to grab Cas' arm and pull it around her, causing Cas to end up on his side, facing in as well. Even though Baby is wedged between them, Dean and Cas are close enough to embrace. Dean swallows thickly. 

In the dark it seems easier to ask, "Why--why did you want us both with you?"

Baby yawns and snuggles closer to Dean, pulling Cas with her. "I don't know if I can explain it," she says "I don't feel safe without you, but I don't feel whole without Cas." He feels her shrug, "It just is. The closer I am to both of you, the better I feel." As if to punctuate her words she rubs catlike up against Dean. 

Dean's breath stutters and he makes the mistake of looking at Cas. Cas' eyes are wide in the dark, his mouth slightly parted. He doesn't look away when Dean meets his eyes. If Dean's body hadn't been reacting before, it is now. His hips involuntarily press into Baby, and he has to squeeze his eyes shut and focus on not moaning.

When he opens his eyes, Baby smiles at him and says, "See, it just feels so…awesome, right?" Her right hand snakes up to his jaw. He realizes she's going to kiss him, in his bed, with Cas pressed to her other side, just before her lips land. 

His logical brain wants to gently press her away from his hips and keep the kiss G rated. His body has evidently stopped listening to his commands because instead he's pressing against her harder seeking some sort of relief and he lets her have his way with his mouth. He hopes the thoroughness of her kiss is muffling the sounds he's making, but there is no way to hide his reaction from Cas.

When Baby pulls away, Dean is breathless and dazed. Cas hasn't moved, his eyes are locked on Dean's lips and Dean sees Cas' tongue gently run along his top lip. Baby squirms between them until she's facing Cas. She reaches for him more slowly, but no less purposefully. Cas doesn't move his eyes from Dean's face until her lips find his. Cas' body jerks as if he is surprised to find he's being kissed, but then he relaxes into the kiss with a pained noise. 

Dean can't look away. It feels like it goes on forever. Baby's hand is in Cas' hair, her fingers scrunching together and releasing. Cas arm is still around her, his palm flat against the middle of her back. Dean is still close enough that the back of Cas' hand is pressing against his chest. He tries to put space between himself and Cas' hand, but as he moves back, Cas' hand reaches out and twists in his shirt.

Dean stops breathing. Baby pulls back from Cas and rolls to her back. Cas looks at his hand still in Dean's shirt and freezes for what feels like an eternity. He takes a shaky breath and lets go, not looking at Dean's face. 

Baby sighs with contentment, "See, it's amazing. I don't understand why you two don't do this every night."

Both Dean and Cas are silent for a minute. When Dean finally trusts his voice he says, "I'm not…We're not…It's not like that."

Baby snorts, but it's a sleepy sound. "Yeah," she yawns, her whole body shaking, "right." Dean wants to argue, but she's already asleep.


	12. It is Like That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but sweet.

Dean wakes up slowly. Even before he's fully awake he knows it's still early. Probably too early to get up, but he feels more well rested than he has in ages. He spends a few moments remembering the night before. After Baby had fallen asleep he'd laid still for a long time and thought about what she'd said. 

She's right, of course, it is like that. It's like that for him at least. What it's like for Cas, well, that's a question he doesn't have an answer for. Besides, Cas has got enough on his plate without navigating Dean's confusing feelings. Once Baby is back in her original body, he doesn't think Cas will bring it up. Cas is particularly good at knowing what Dean doesn't want to talk about. This probably qualifies as the biggest thing he has ever not wanted to talk to Cas about in the history of talking (or not talking) to Cas.

He'd thought himself in circles last night. He resolved to deal with this crisis the same way he always has, by more or less pretending it doesn't exist. There's a reason the classics are classics. The last thing he remembers is the sound of Cas' even breathing. 

He turns his attention to the here and now. His body is pinned down under a pleasant weight. In the night his arm has gotten wedged under Baby's neck. One of her arms and legs are thrown over him possessively. There are soft hairs tickling his chin.

Something about the texture of the hair brushing his chin sets off alarm bells, enough that he becomes hyper aware of every place her body is pressed against his. The leg is a little too heavy, the arm too thick, the hair too soft. Dean opens his eyes slowly. From the position he's in, Dean can't get a good look the body spread out nearly on top of him, but there's no mistaking that head of hair. He glances past Cas to see if Baby is anywhere to be seen. She's not.

He's paralyzed. If he moves he will certainly wake Cas. He doesn't want to wake Cas until he has some idea what his reaction is supposed to be. He feels completely incapable of playing the role of platonic friend disturbed by inadvertent cuddling, mostly because he is the farthest thing from disturbed at the moment. 

He tries to imagine what the proper reaction of someone not in love with their best friend would be, but comes up blank. Is he supposed to be angry? Should he push Cas off and make manly declarations of NO HOMO? Should he slip quietly out of Cas' grasp and hope Cas ignores it as well? He has no idea. His mind is like a vast desert, where only one idea is shining like an oasis. That idea is that he stay right where he is and enjoy the feeling of Cas pressed up close and clinging to him. 

There doesn't seem to be any pressing reason why he can't let himself have this now, just for a few more hours. He can deal with the fallout when he wakes up. His arm instinctively pulls Cas closer. He's rewarded with Cas nuzzling into his chest and sighing a soft satisfied noise. When Cas falls still again, Dean is pulled slowly back down into a dreamless sleep.


	13. The Cuddle Aggressor

When Cas wakes up, his first thought is that it is surprising restful to spend the night in bed with someone else. Sleeping is something he has generally tolerated, but not enjoyed since becoming human. This morning, however, he is warm and comfortable and his mood is pleasantly fuzzy. His limbs feel heavy, as if he hasn't moved them in several hours. He stretches his legs first, which is how he discovers he's quite thoroughly curled around a body. A body that is clearly not Baby. It is also how he discovers his brain was not the first organ to wake this morning. 

The logical reaction would be to stand up, apologize and excuse himself as quickly as possible, but his body is momentarily disconnected from his brain. His eyes remain closed. His arms and legs move and stretch even as his brain screams at him to put some distance between himself and Dean. 

Dean, who, his brain helpfully supplies, is definitely awake. The quality of his breathing and the deafening stillness of his body give it away. Cas takes a moment to try to catalog Dean's reaction, but aside from the unnatural stillness, Cas finds none. Why isn't Dean pushing him off? Getting angry or making a joke would be a far more comprehensible reaction. Cas knows he's going to have to face the music eventually. Given his current state of encroachment on Dean's person, it's clear he was the cuddle aggressor. A sigh slips out before he can stop it. In response he feels Dean's arm, which he now notices is wrapped around him, tighten briefly. 

Cas is not a coward, so he pushes himself up slightly and looks at Dean. He doesn't see anger or disgust or even annoyance in his friend's eyes. He doesn't know what to say. He opens his mouth, but all that comes out is, "Hello, Dean."

Dean replies with a sad smile, "Hey, Cas. Nice of you to stop drooling on me."

Cas finishes pushing himself up. He wipes the back of his hand across his mouth. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Dean sits up and swings his feet off the side of the bed. "Don't worry about it. Looks like Baby is already up."

Cas frowns. He was prepared to deal with any number of reactions from Dean, but this is almost more alarming. "Dean, I--"

"I said don't worry about it, Cas. It's fine. I knew it was going to be weird when Baby suggested it. It's…" he pauses briefly, swallows, and finishes, "I'm fine."

Cas doesn't know how to answer that, so he starts to stand. Dean twists and reaches out to grab his wrist pulling him back to the bed. "Cas, wait. Um. Look, I want you to know, if, if we can't get Baby back. Or if she doesn't want to go back, I just…I'd understand…" his voice trails off.

Cas looks at Dean for a long time, trying to pick up his meaning from some other non-verbal clue, but it still doesn't make any sense. "Understand what, Dean?"

Dean releases his grip and rubs his hands over his face. Cas stares at his wrist where he feels the echo of Dean's grip. Dean doesn't look up at Cas when he speaks, "I'm just saying, I get it. Baby l--likes you. She looks at you like you're," he stops and clears his throat, "like you're the one. And, Jesus, Cas, the whole time I've known you, I don't even think I've seen you look twice at a woman. But, it's different with her. I see it. I get it. That's all."

Cas rolls his thoughts over in his mind, not quite sure how to disabuse Dean of this idea. He’s right. When he first came to earth, human bodies made very little difference to him. Even when he realized he had fallen in love with Dean, it was more of a spiritual bond. The physical desire stole over him slowly, until he started finding his body’s reaction to Dean inexorably tied up with his spiritual love. There’s never been a reason to look at anyone else. He’s confused, alarmed even, by his physical reactions to Baby, but intellectually, he’s still not interested. He’s always known it would be Dean or no one for him. He’s as stubborn in this as in all things. 

Dean seems to take his silence as his answer and stands up, "Forget it man, whatever. Come on." 

It's Cas' turn to reach out. He grabs Dean's wrist as he passes by. "Dean, no. Wait." Dean stops. He closes his eyes and stands very still, but doesn't pull his wrist away. Dean opens his eyes and Cas chooses a point just over his shoulder to look at while he speaks, "I appreciate your concern. And you are right that I, um, when she, well, I am very fond of her. But, I don't want to be with her, Dean. Not the way you're implying. Just so you know."

He looks back at Dean when he finishes. Dean watches him silently before he replies, "Oh. Ok. That's good. I guess. I mean. Falling in love with a car is a little complicated for your first time, I guess."

Cas snorts at the idea and then sobers thinking about how falling in love with a car feels significantly less complicated than his reality. He can hardly point that out to Dean, so he remains silent. Dean is still watching him. Cas looks back. Deans' eyes flick down and Cas realizes he's still holding Dean's wrist. He lets go, flushing.

The movement seems to free Dean to continue, "Ok. Let's go find Baby and figure out what in the hell is going on."


	14. Invested

Dean leads the way, but Cas stays close behind. They find Sam and Baby sitting on the same side of the table facing each other. Baby's legs are pulled up into the chair and crossed. Her elbows on her knees. She's holding Dean's World's Largest Ball of Twine mug. There are books piled on the table in front of Sam, but he's deep in conversation with Baby, one of those ridiculous Men of Letter's teacup and saucer pairs balanced on his palm.

Sam and Baby look up at them when they arrive. Dean can feel Cas standing just behind him, more ‘too close’ than usual. His shoulder bumps Dean's when he stops. Baby splits her soft smile equally between himself and Cas. He wonders if she saw them in bed after she got up. Sam, surprisingly, also offers a soft smile, the type that hasn't been directed at Dean for the better part of 6 months. Dean feels something loosen in his chest.

"Hey. Morning sleepy heads," Sam offers, still smiling. For one, brief, heart-stopping moment he thinks Sam knows that Dean dragged out staying in bed with Cas longer than he had to. Then he realizes it's still only 7am, and anyway, Sam can't read his mind. 

"D'you find anything?" Dean asks at the same time Cas demands, "Is there more coffee?" Dean turns to laugh at Cas, but he's closer than he expected. His hair's a mess. His eyes are still sleepy, but content, in spite of his gruff tone. He looks…Dean swallows…like he just rolled out of the sack after an epic night of satisfying sex. Dean is torn between arousal, alarm that Sam knows just who Cas was in bed with last night, and frustration that he didn't actually do anything to make Cas look like that.

It seems like a good time to take the opportunity offered, "Yeah, yeah, grumpy. You sit down, I'll bring you some coffee." Cas smiles rapturously at him. "Whatever, it's coffee, calm down," Dean replies, mostly to stop a stupid grin from busting out on his own face.

As much as he wants to know if Sam's discovered anything, he takes his time getting the coffee. He gets down a travel mug for Cas, because he knows he hates it when his coffee gets cold before he can finish it. He grabs a random mug from the shelf for himself. He pulls himself together while he pours the coffee. Just because he woke up with Cas pressed against him, doesn’t mean anything else has changed. It's not like it's ever happening again. It's not like Cas even did it on purpose. He just has to shove that good feeling down as deep as it will go. 

He takes the coffee into the main room, sets Cas' in front of him, and sits down across the table from Sam. Sam is looking at him carefully. He sighs, "Ok, I know that look. Tell me what you know."

"So, um, it's actually kind of cool. At first I was looking for some sort of curse or something, but I got distracted and ended up looking at this other book and just kinda stumbled upon this." He picks up a book and lays it between Dean and Cas. It's not written in a language Dean even recognizes. Cas seems to, of course, so he picks it up and begins reading.

"Well, how about you sum it up for those of us who can't read that," Dean grouses. Sam is watching Cas with interest, which only serves to make Dean more nervous. 

Instead of explaining, Sam lets Cas finish reading it first. Cas finishes and pushes the book back toward Sam. Sam is still quiet. Cas doesn't say anything, but he looks back and forth between Dean and Baby with a tiny furrow in his brow. 

"Anyone care to let me in on this little secret?" Dean says, using every ounce of willpower he has not to thump the table with his fist.

"Right, yeah," Sam jumps a little, tearing his eyes away from Cas, "So, basically, I found this spell. It, well, it turns an inanimate object into a person."

Dean scowls, "Yeah, right, kinda got that part, Sam."

"Sure, right, but the thing is, the spell is tied to the owner of the object. In fact, in order to be successful at all the owner has to be," Sam pauses, choosing his words, "invested in the object, I guess is the best way to put it."

Dean frowns. That makes sense. He is 'invested' in that car. There's nothing embarrassing about that. Which leaves him wondering why Sam is hemming and hawing so much about telling him. "And?" he finally prods.

"Well, the more, uh, 'invested' the owner is in the object the more successful the spell is, because, it, uh, well, it basically uses the owner's, uh, id to form the basis of the personality." Dean waits for more, but Sam seems to be done talking for the moment. 

"Do you want to break that down for me, professor?" Dean asks, a sick kind of churning starting up in his gut.

Sam sighs, like he knows Dean is playing dumb, "If you really want me to spell it out, Dean," and no Dean really doesn't, but he doesn't know how to stop this train wreck now, "it means that Baby is basically, like, you, but without all the filters. She's the human embodiment of your deepest desires."

Dean can feel the heat rising up his neck, but they've got a job to do, and he's a professional, damn it. He ignores the invasive feeling of three pair of eyes scrutinizing him. He ignores the why of it. This is not the time to try to unpack that particular box of Dean's messed up emotional life. "So, what? What do we do? What does Baby do?"

"The spell is time-sensitive. It lasts 24 hours. By 6 tonight she’ll be an Impala again. I don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop it. The spell only works once."

Dean's stomach sinks a little at that. She may not be real, but she feels real. He looks up at her, but she's still smiling, not perturbed at all by the news. "And you're ok with that?" he asks.

Her dimples pop out before she says, "I'll miss being here, with you, but, I think I've done what I can here." Her gaze slides momentarily to Cas and back. Dean swallows thickly. He doesn't know what he's supposed to say. He can feel the unshed tears behind his eyes, and fuck everything if he's going to let them fall. 

It's quiet for a too long, but Dean is pulled from his thoughts by Cas' quiet voice, "Dean, can I see you privately for a moment."

Dean feels an unmanly fear clench his chest. As much as he'd like to pretend Cas wouldn't understand what all of this meant, he knew better. He wondered if Cas wanted privacy to punch him in the face or just to let him down easy. "Yeah. Yeah, ok." 

He pushes to his feet and follows Cas. He doesn't look back at Sam and Baby. He doesn't need any pity. Cas stops in front of Dean's room, but waits for Dean to decide if he wants to have the conversation in the hall or in his room. Dean pushes the door open and lets Cas walk through first. Dean walks through and pulls the door closed behind him. Cas has hardly stepped into the room, so he's right there when Dean steps through. He's looking at Dean speculatively. He doesn't look angry. His head is tilted to the side and he looks like he's trying to look into the back of Dean's eyeballs. Dean would laugh if he could figure out how to breathe. Cas' eyes drop to his lips and back up with the same squinty-eyed stare. Dean has no idea what Cas is looking for, but his hand creeps slowly up toward Dean's face. He knows Cas isn't going to hit him, but his eyes close nonetheless. Cas just holds his jaw carefully first with one hand and then with two. Dean opens his eyes. Cas is smiling his small smile. Dean doesn't know why, but he can't help but smile back. Cas smile gets wider and goes gummy and that's the smile that makes Dean's heart flip flop under the best of circumstances. 

"Dean, you are an idiot," Cas says through his smile. He stops and goes serious again. "I am an idiot." 

Dean frowns, he knows he's an idiot, but he wants to ask Cas what he's talking about. He opens his mouth to speak, but suddenly Cas is kissing him. It takes a minute for his body to get the message, and then he's responding, walking Cas backwards, toward a wall, toward the bed, he's not even sure. Cas' hands leave his face and are suddenly everywhere all at once. Dean spares a moment to think maybe this is going to fast, but then Cas is up against the wall and his hands are on Dean's ass and all thinking momentarily stops.

Dean is working his way down Cas’ neck. Sucking, bruising kisses that will leave marks Sam will no doubt know how to interpret, but he can't seem to care. He has everything he wants under his hands, finally, finally. Cas freezes and Dean looks up, worried he's gone too far, but Cas is looking at the door. Dean turns around. Baby is standing in the doorway. "Don't let me stop you," she says her voice a little deeper than normal.

Dean straightens and turns toward Baby, because a man has got to draw the line somewhere. His resolve is a little shaky when he sees the heated look Baby is sharing between them. He realizes she's nearly as worked up as he is and all she was doing was standing in the doorway. He looks back at Cas and nearly presses back up against him regardless of an audience. If Dean thought he looked sexed up this morning, it's nothing to how he looks now. His lips are plump and wet. His hair is ridiculous and Dean doesn't even remember touching it. He can't help it, he leans in quickly and places a chaste kiss on those slick lips. He's rewarded by a deep sigh as Cas leans his weight against the wall.

"Sam said to tell you two to knock it off and come get breakfast with us," Baby says, smirking.

Dean wants to protest, but he realizes with a giddy feeling he doesn't have to. He loves Cas. Sam knows it. Cas loves him. Sam must have guessed it. "Tell Sam we'll be there in a minute."

Baby walks over to them. She pulls Dean's face down to hers. She brushes her lips gently over his, sighing quietly as she does. She pulls his bottom lip between hers briefly before looking at Cas. She does the same to him before she presses into him against the wall. She pulls her lips away from his and presses her mouth to his ear, saying something too low for Dean to hear. He sees Cas' eyes widen slightly as he glances at Dean and blushes. Baby backs off and walks to the door. She stops, turns, and flashes her dimples, "Don't take too long."

Dean looks at Cas. He wants to go back to the kissing, but he's afraid if he starts he won't be able to stop. It's not helping that Cas keeps staring at his lips. He feels like like an awkward teenager trying to avoid making out in his parents' living room. "So, I guess we ought to get dressed," he finally offers.

Cas' gaze snaps away from Dean's lips. A flush is creeping up his neck and Dean really wants to lick it. "Yes, of course, you're right, we shouldn't keep Sam and Baby waiting." Cas frowns like he's contemplating something, but he just moves toward the door. Before he can leave Dean grabs his arm and pulls him back. He sees a little "O" of surprise on his face just before he leans in and kisses him. At first it's calmer, a gentle glide of lips, a little bit of tongue, but Dean can feel it sliding slowly out of his control. He pulls back slightly, enough to see Cas' face, blissed out and dazed. He leans his forehead against Cas'. 

"I'll see you in a minute," he breathes out. Cas just nods, untangling himself from Dean's arms. Dean follows him to the door. Cas looks back once as he walks away. Dean doesn't move to get dressed until Cas is out of sight.


	15. Let's Talk

By the time Dean gets dressed and makes it out to the main room, Cas is already there. The drive to the diner is an awkward affair. Dean moves to get in the driver's seat, but Baby suggests Sam drive. Dean thinks she must want to sit in the back, but she ends up claiming shotgun leaving the back for him and Cas. Baby spends most of the drive with her arm hooked over the seat looking into the back. Dean isn't sure what the protocol on PDA's is supposed to be in this situation, but he keeps a respectable distance between them. Baby seems a little disappointed. Sam doesn't try to make conversation, for which Dean is grateful. Cas looks calm as ever, though his lips turn up at the corners when Dean catches his eye.

At the diner Baby slides into the booth with Sam, leaving Dean and Cas to sit together. The booth isn't large and Cas' knee keeps bumping Dean's. It's nothing that hasn't happened a hundred times in a hundred different diners, but everything feels different now. About midway through the meal, Dean's palm comes to rest on his own leg. It makes him acutely aware that he could, if he wanted to, put that same palm on Cas' thigh instead. 

Dean blows out a long breath to clear his head. The unintended consequence is three pair of eyes swiveling toward him. They each seem to be silently asking a different question. Sam looks thoughtfully concerned, Baby looks knowing, but Cas looks worried. Dean doesn't like that knowing he put that look there, so he reaches over and smoothes his hand down Cas' thigh and smiles at him. He hopes it's reassuring. Cas' face loses it's worried pinch. There's an almost-there smile on his face now, which is about as close to happy as Cas usually looks in public. 

When Dean looks up, Sam is studying his food, but his ears are slightly pink at the tip. That's when he realizes what he did. Sam may have figured things out, but he hadn't really been given concrete evidence that Dean was really, actually, doing...whatever it was he and Cas were doing. Or going to be doing. Hopefully they were going to be doing whatever it was they were going to be doing as soon as this whole situation was fixed, but he renews his determination to keep his hands to himself until then.

Baby breaks the silence, saying, "Are you two going to fuck when we get home?"

Sam starts coughing until lettuce spews out of his throat. Dean is too shocked to even consider that he maybe should have been considering how to get to his brother to administer the heimlich. Cas is still staring placidly at his plate, bringing a fry to his mouth. "I imagine Dean and I have a lot to discuss before we engage in intercourse," Dean's heart sinks a little bit, "and, of course, we'll be quite busy until you're changed back. I'm sure Dean wants to spend as much time with you as possible."

Dean's mouth is hanging open. He should be horrified. Instead he's just shocked, and a little turned on. Baby is smiling at Cas again like she can't believe he's real. "I guess I'm just saying, you don't have to wait. And we could still spend time together."

It's Dean's turn to choke on his home fries. Is she, is that what she...it's not like he didn't think about it last night, but things feel different this morning. Last night he'd wondered, but the driving force behind that longing was the possibility that it might be the closest he got to being with Cas. Cas had seemed into it. That had made Dean feel ways, but then Baby had promptly fallen asleep, leaving him, and he suspected Cas, to deal with the most awkward ‘boner while in bed with your best friend' ever.

Sam saves Dean from having to respond, "Ok, look, I think this is great and all. Honestly. Like, "It's about time" level great, but can we not have this conversation right now? Or ever while I'm in the room?"

The little furrow in Cas' brow is back, like he's just now realized this isn't normal meal-time conversation. Baby throws her head back and laughs, leaning her weight on Sam, "Ok, Sammy. We'll save it for later."

Breakfast goes fast after that. Sam tries to get Dean to put some thought into who might have cast the spell on Baby, but Dean doesn't have any more of an idea now than he did when it first happened. It feels like no time passes and then they're all standing awkwardly in the bunker and Sam excuses himself to go on a supply run, which is the lamest excuse Dean has ever heard him pull to extract himself from Dean's mess of a personal life.

Once the door closes behind Sam, Baby moves until she's standing in front of both of them. "Ok, boys. Let's talk."


	16. Sometimes There's Crying

"OK, boys. Let's talk."

Now that Cas knows the effects of the spell that caused Baby to manifest as a human being, his reactions to her fill him with a touch of wonder, rather than confusion. She's standing there now, a mix of unbridled enthusiasm and frank sexuality. Dean is already an alarming shade of red, but Cas isn't bothered by talking about sex. He supposes he hasn't been human long enough to understand the taboo of it. 

She's so much like Dean, but he doesn't blame himself for missing the connection, even though it's all he can see now. Her simple joy in pleasure and touch. Her mischievous smile. Her flirtations. All unhindered by guilt or remorse or repression. And she's very beautiful. She doesn't look like Dean, but when Cas watches her, he feels the same vague longing it took him so long to name in relation to Dean.

She's waiting for one of them to say something. Cas doesn't have any problem with discussing sex, but he doesn't know what he's supposed to say. He thinks she is implying she wants to have sex with him and with Dean at the same time, but he's not really sure. When he thinks of sex with Baby he doesn't feel the same intense tug in his gut that he does when he thinks about Dean, but he feels something. Still, he has little practical sexual experience to go on. Trying to visualize being intimate with Dean and Baby makes his brain derail quite spectacularly.

"Look, Baby," Dean is saying, "It's not...I mean it's not that I'm not interested, I'm just not sure...everything feels a little weird right now."

Baby looks up at Dean with a level of devotion that takes Cas' breath away. She places one hand on the side of his face. Cas watches, fascinated as Dean almost imperceptibly leans into the touch. "Dean, you can't lie to me."

"It's not that it wouldn't be..." Dean shudders, "amazing. It's just I'm not sure...Cas and I just...It feels," he pauses, "wrong." 

Cas suddenly understands Dean's hesitance. Unlike Cas, Dean has plenty of experience to go on. He knows what this experience could be. He's always had a physical relationship with the Impala. Caring for her. Stoking her. Protecting her. Tinkering around inside her. It's no wonder, now that his desires have come to life, that it's translated into a sexual desire. He wonders if that should bother him. It doesn't. "I don't mind," the words are out of his mouth before he can stop them. 

Dean lets out a choked, "C-cas," but nothing else comes out except for a few coughs.

"I mean to say, if your hesitation comes from a sense of loyalty to me, to what we have been or what we will be, you shouldn't let that affect your decision. I love you. I know that you love me. I also know that you love Baby. And that Baby derives comfort from your presence. She only has a few hours left with us, Dean. You should consider that. You shouldn't give up something you might regret forever because of an imagined guilt." 

Baby pulls him into her arms and hugs him tightly, tiny tears leaking out of her eyes. He can hear her whispering words into his neck and after a few moments he recognizes what she's said, "You're going to take such good care of him."

Dean hasn't moved. He's watching Cas and Baby. Cas knows him well enough to see that Dean is seeing more than Baby hugging Cas. He's seeing the potential of what Baby has asked of them. Cas can see that Dean wants it. It's enough for him, but Dean doesn't look convinced.

"Cas, do you. Do you even want this?" Dean asks with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't know," Cas answers honestly. "I don't not want it."

Dean exhales a shaky breath. "That's not," Dean swallows, "that's not good enough. I don't want to do anything you aren't comfortable with."

Baby reaches out and draws Dean into their bodies. She squeezes them tightly to her. Dean puts an arm around Cas and like he can't help it, he kisses him. He kisses Dean back and he hears Baby let out a small sigh.

"Can you just hold me then?" Baby asks, "This feels so good. I just want you both close. Can we do that?"

Cas feels Deans arm grip them both tighter, "Yeah. Ok. We can do that."

\---

Deans legs are shaky as they walk to his room. He guesses they could have cuddled on the couch, but he doesn't exactly know what's happening or when Sam's coming home. Dean's insides feel all rearranged. He is a conflicted mess of want. On the one hand he wants to be alone with Cas. He wants to finally, finally, get his hands on him and take him apart. The exact face Cas might make while fucking him has been a source of great variety in his personally fantasies for an embarrassingly long time. 

Back when he first noticed he maybe didn't look at Cas the way The Righteous Man ought to look at an angel, Cas' face, even in his fantasies, was cool and distant. Like fucking Dean was an academic experience, "This is a very interesting exercise Dean, I can see why you suggested it." 

Lately, when he's let himself indulge, Cas' face has been intent, but wrecked. Sometimes there's crying, Cas, Dean, both of them, usually, even though that shit is not sexy, because Dean has had a hard time imagining a non-tragedy induced scenario in which he and Cas would end up in bed. Maybe if he were dying, or Cas, or God forbid Sam was gone, maybe then they could get past whatever it was that was stopping them and open up just enough to get to…His step falters, they did get there though. It didn't take a tragedy, it only took Baby and her sweet smile and her unspoiled affection. Cas notices Dean's stumble, of course he does, what doesn't he notice about Dean? It makes him flush, but he smiles reassuringly to let Cas know he's fine.

He looks down to where Cas' has his hand in Baby's. A different kind of want stabs through him. His brain unhelpfully provides a very graphic image of Baby and Cas naked and pressed together. He doesn't even see himself with them. There's probably something a little twisted about the whys of it. He's not sure he understands it completely himself, but Baby being a little bit himself and a little bit his home and a little bit the only thing he's ever had that was really his, and Cas being, well, Cas…they fit together in the interlocking puzzle pieces of Dean's psyche in a way that sends fissions down his spine.

But Dean's smart enough to know that just because he wants something doesn't make it a good idea. Baby wants it because she's enough Dean to be irresistibly drawn to Cas. Dean wants it because he's probably not put together quite right. But Cas isn't Baby and he isn't Dean. He loves Dean, and he's attracted to Baby, but that isn't the same thing, and Dean doesn't want to mess this thing with Cas up before it's even gotten started.

They reach his room and stand in front of the door for slightly too long, until Dean finally sighs and pushes through the door first.


	17. Oops. They do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that thing about being disappointed if you were looking for a threesome? Turns out not so much.

Baby walks over to the pile of clothes she slept in last night and grabs them. "I'm going to change back into these. They felt nice." She walks into the bathroom, leaving Cas and Dean standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

Dean sits down on the bed and pulls off his boots. He stands, hands on the buttons of his shirt, "I'm just gonna--" he gestures loosely to his body. Cas nods and turns away toeing off his shoes. When they are down to boxers and tshirts, Dean climbs into bed, trying not to think about what he's doing. Cas slides in next to him, looking anywhere but Dean's face. Dean rolls to his side, "Cas, look at me." Cas turns in to face him. "This, it doesn't have to be anything. We'll just, uh, help Baby feel better. And when this is over, then we'll deal with the other stuff, ok?"

Cas has a tiny frown on his face and looks like he wants to say something, but Baby comes out of the bathroom. Dean starts to make room for her between him and Cas, but she slides in next to Dean, pushing him into the middle. Dean feels suspiciously like the middle spoon, but when Cas and Baby both press close to his sides he loses all will to complain. Baby reaches over and grabs Cas' arm pulling it over Dean and laying his hand on her hip. It pulls Cas into full contact along Dean's side.

Being enveloped by Baby's soft curves on one side and Cas' hard planes on the other makes it hard for Dean to relax. He's afraid to look at Cas and afraid to look at Baby, so he squeezes his eyes closed before he says, "So, uh, if you really want to snuggle for a couple hours, maybe we could watch TV or something too?"

Baby huffs a small laugh. "You know what I want to do." She pulls her hand out of Cas' and snakes it under Dean's shirt. 

"Baby…" Dean manages to get out in warning. His eyes are still closed so he's surprised when he feels another hand beneath his shirt, bigger, rougher, warmer. Dean's eyes open. He finds two pairs of eyes on him.

"Take off your shirt, Dean," Baby says and it's not a request.

Dean's eyes shift to Cas, "Cas?"

"I think you should do what the lady says," Cas replies, but his voice is rough.

Dean's throat is unexpectedly dry. He has to swallow thickly before he can nod and reply, "Ok."

Baby sits up and Cas leans up on an elbow while Dean sits up enough to pull his shirt over his head. He throws the shirt off the bed then Baby's pushing him back down. Cas' hand reaches out tentatively to stroke his chest again, fingertips lingering over his anti-possession tattoo.

Dean lets out a long breath, silently praying he doesn't go off like a rocket before things even get started. 

Baby's eyes rove over his chest, following Cas' arm up to his face, "You too, Angel," she says simply in a tone that brooks no argument. Cas seems to know what she means. He rises up and pulls his own shirt off. 

Suddenly everything is feels too much and not enough. As soon as Cas is free of his shirt, Dean pulls him down kissing him fiercely. When Cas pulls back he looks a little dazed. Baby looks pleased. Dean watches as she crosses her arms, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it off. Her breasts are full and barely contained by a black lace bra. Her dimples are suddenly demoted to his second favorite feature. 

Dean wants to touch, but everything feels raw and fragile, leaving him unsure where to start. Baby leans down and presses her hand to Dean's chest forcing him down from where he's unknowingly started to rise. "Relax. We're going to take care of you."

At her words Dean looks to Cas. His face is serious. Dean watches his adam's apple bob once before he nods his agreement to Dean. Dean looks back to Baby and she places a chaste kiss on his lips before sitting up and reaching behind her back to unhook her bra. Her breasts tumble free and Dean reaches up to gently cup one breast. Her skin is soft and perfect. He runs his thumb lightly over a nipple and she shivers. 

From the corner of his eye he sees Cas move. Cas hand is half raised and he's staring at Dean's hand, his head cocked like he's trying to understand a very complicated puzzle. Baby moves so she's straddling Dean's leg. She reaches out a hand and pulls Cas' upraised hand to her chest. Cas' hand moves tentatively in an echo of Dean's. He moves from watching Dean's hand to watching his own. As his movements become less tentative his puzzled frown smoothes out. "Oh," is all he says, but his gaze becomes speculative. Slowly Cas leans down and presses a soft kiss to the side of her breast. Baby's eyes close and Dean feels her legs tighten around his. Cas' hand slips around to Baby's back holding her firmly while his lips weave a path around the full flesh, avoiding her nipple in a way that must be purposeful. Baby throws her head back and exposes the long line of her throat. Dean wants to sit up and kiss it, but he can't take his eyes of Cas. He's afraid if he does anything he might discourage Cas' exploration. 

Cas pauses, lips hovering near her skin. Baby opens her eyes and looks down. Cas meets her eyes for a moment before closing his mouth around her nipple. The details of the action are lost to Dean, but not Baby's pleased moan. The sound reminds Dean of his own aching hardness. He closes his eyes and lays his head back. Baby is straddling his legs, but too low to thrust up into her body to get friction. When he hears the unmistakable sound of Cas and Baby kissing he refuses to open his eyes for fear he'll start jacking himself, which is not really how he wants this to go down. 

Although, if he's honest with himself, he could watch Cas and Baby while taking care of himself and be perfectly happy. He opens his eyes to take advantage of this realization and finds Baby and Cas both looking at him. Baby's looking at his face, but Cas is staring at his embarrassingly hard dick, which makes his hard-on situation more urgent. 

Baby leans over his body and presses herself to one side. Her leg is twined around his and her soft curves are pressed against his side. He turns his head toward her and she kisses him. He winds both arms around her, pulling her close, but still frustratingly far from his erection. 

Just as he loses himself in the kiss, he feels a light touch that makes his body freeze. Baby's hands are on his head and on his chest, which means the hand he feels hesitantly running his fingers along the length of his dick belongs to Cas. He instinctively bucks his hips and Cas' hand is gone for a moment. Then it returns with more pressure and Dean thinks he's probably going to die before he even gets off.

Baby pulls back enough to press kisses down his jaw and neck. She has one hand in his hair, holding his head back to give her better access. The other scratches down his chest just hard enough to leave him panting.

He can feel Cas' hand on his dick, but he can't see it. When he can keep his eyes open he can see Cas staring down at Dean's erection with something approaching reverence. When Cas looks up, catching his eyes, he thrusts his hips and does his best to convey with his eyes what he needs. Cas makes a face somewhere between shy and desperate in reply. Dean feels Baby untangle from his legs and then Cas' hands yanking off his boxers. He can feel Baby contorting next to him and when she presses back to him all he can feel is miles of smooth skin. 

There's a brief moment after that where all he can feel are Baby's hand on his chest and her lips on his collar bone, but then Cas' hand grips his dick with just enough pressure to force out a pleased whimper. 

Baby's lips move lower, kissing down his chest. Dean wants to get his hands on Baby or Cas or both at the same time, but Baby's got him pinned beneath her. She moves lower until she's pressing small ticklish kisses to the soft skin below his belly button. 

Now that Baby's weight is not pressing him to the bed he pushes up to his elbows. Cas' hand is jacking him slow and perfect. Dean briefly wonders if that's how Cas likes it, if Cas has been experimenting since he became human. 

Before he can get too sentimental, Baby's mouth wraps tightly around him. Cas doesn't stop and the combination of the two sensations has him precariously close to the edge. Baby does something with her tongue and Dean shouts without thinking, "Cas, please." Dean's not sure what he's asking, but Cas grips him low and tight, not moving until Dean feels himself come slowly back from the edge. 

Baby's head pops up. Her lips are spit slick and swollen. Dean thinks she's the most beautiful sight he's ever seen. She reaches back down his leg, slowly moving her hand over his body from ankle to chest. "You're so beautiful, Dean," she whispers, "I want so much for you. You deserve so much." She looks back at Cas whose hand has resumed a light stroking, "You both do."

Dean can't take it anymore and he sits up until he can pull Baby to him and kiss her confusing words out of her mouth. He pulls back breathless and grabs Cas' arms until he lets go of Dean and they both fall back onto the bed. 

Cas is half on top of him and presses in closer until they're finally kissing and Dean, blessedly, doesn't have to think anymore. Cas shifts until he's lying fully on top of Dean. When Dean feels Cas' erection press against his own he's afraid his answering moan can be heard all the way to wherever the hell Sam went. He loses himself in the sweet friction, mindlessly rutting while tangling his fingers in Cas' ridiculous hair.

There's a pause in Cas' movements. Dean opens his eyes. Cas is looking at Baby, who's kneeling on the bed with a very satisfied smirk on her face. He follows Cas' gaze to where it falls between Baby's legs. Seeing as they left her out of the action, she's taking matters into her own hands. 

Her voice comes out low and smoky, "Don't mind me, boys. I'm used to watching." Her fingers never stop moving and her breath hitches. Cas looks stunned. His eyes are wide and don't move from the sight before him. Dean's dick is throbbing relentlessly, but he feels as stunned as Cas looks, paralyzed by the options before him.

As much as he wants to pull Cas back and finish what they started, he also wants to lay Baby down and replace her fingers with his tongue. Baby must see something of his indecision in his face because she says, "No, Dean. You stay there. I told you, we're taking care of you."

She leans down close to Cas' ear and whispers something too low for Dean to hear. Cas swallows and rolls off Dean. Baby straddles Dean's hips. She presses her body down and slides, running her wet heat along the length of his dick. His hips jerk and she smiles down at him.

Cas watches where their bodies grind together. Dean can see Cas has a hand on himself. Dean can't figure out a way to get his hands on Cas himself, but he's trying when Baby leans down and grabs both his arms and raises them over his head. "Grab the headboard," she says and he does it without thinking. "Now Dean, I know you can be good for us, right?" It's possible he says yes, or it's possible he makes an unintelligible grunt, but Baby coos, "Good. So good, Dean. Keep your hands there, ok?"

If words come out he doesn't know what they are. He grabs the headboard firmly and bucks his hips up in desperation. Baby sits back up, trailing her hands down his chest. Cas is staring at Dean like he's never seen him before, but there's also something knowing and hungry in his eyes that makes Dean's insides curl in anticipation.

When Baby says, "Dean," his head swivels back to her. He hips continue their maddening glide which is too much and not enough at the same time. "You feel good, right?" she asks. Dean can only nod. "Good. And we want you to feel even better, but first you've got to tell Cas what you want."

Cas’ eyes shoot between Baby and Dean with a hint of alarm. Dean's head falls back and he has just enough rational thought to not be surprised that Baby knows what he wants and how unlikely he would be to ask for it.

Baby's hands are back on his chest, soothing up and down. He hears her voice, but it sounds far away, "Open your eyes, Dean." his lids feel heavy, but he does it. "So good. Look at Cas." He looks to Cas, who in turn is looking at him wonderingly.

Cas' hand reaches out and strokes his cheek. Dean sighs into it. Looking at Cas grounds him and sets him free at the same time. "Tell him, Dean. He can't read your mind any more, you know," she says around a smirk.

"Cas," he starts, but it comes out parched. He swallows thickly and tries again, "Cas…I want you…" he stops, swallowing again, "I want you, uh, in my mouth…while Baby rides me." Cas looks worried and his mouth drops open, maybe to protest, but Dean says, "Please, Cas, don't make me ask again." Cas swallows then, his face serious as he nods. 

"Good boy," Baby says quietly, but it sends shivers down his spine.

Cas quickly rids himself of his boxers, but still looks hesitant. Baby reaches down and eases herself onto Dean's dick and all thought of Cas' worry vanishes for an instant. His eyes squeeze shut and all he can think is HOT, SOFT, WET. 

When he opens his eyes Cas is still watching him skeptically. "You don't have to--" he starts, but Dean interrupts him, "Damn it, Cas. Get up here and put your dick in my mouth."

Cas looks shocked for an instant, then like he's trying not to laugh and then serious again. "Ok," is all he says.

Cas gently climbs over Dean's body. Dean can finally see Cas' dick. It's flushed and heavy and all Dean can think is how much he wants it in his mouth, but Cas is still trying to figure out how to get himself into the right position. He must make a sound of protest because Cas huffs out a strained laugh.

"I'm not gonna break. Just do it already," Dean says.

From her position behind Cas, Dean hears her laugh and say, "Bossy." She picks up her pace and his witty retort dies on his lips.

One of Cas' arms stretches out over Dean's head to press against the wall. The other guides his dick closer to Dean's mouth. Cas still looks hesitant even with Dean's encouragement, so Dean leans up to close the gap himself. He can't get close enough, but his lips catch on the tip of Cas' dick and Cas' back bows making his dick wobble and slap Dean in the face. Dean's not sure he should be turned on by that, but he definitely is.

Cas is suddenly on board with the plan and he eases close enough to drag his dick over Dean's lips. Dean lets him, but he parts his lips slightly, waiting for Cas' signal that he's ready for more. Cas closes his eyes and presses forward slowly.

Dean lets out a moan of satisfaction around Cas' dick and hears Cas' quiet voice say, "Shit. Dean. Shit." Dean wants to give Cas the A+ blow job he knows he's capable of, but with Baby slowly working him toward his own climax, he's not sure he's going to be able to give Cas the attention he deserves. Next time, he tells himself, while he starts working his tongue and mouth to the best of his current ability.

A couple of times he nearly moves his hands to pull Cas closer, but he remembers Baby's words. Baby doesn't want him to move, so he won't. He can be good for her after all she's done for him.

After a few minutes, Cas groans and starts to move more, shallow, barely there thrusts. Dean wants to shout at him to go harder, but he's got a mouthful of dick that's making it hard to express himself properly. He tries a different approach, bobbing his head forward as Cas pushes in. It's enough to push Cas to the back of Dean's throat. Cas pulls back abruptly and looks down at Dean with a question in his eyes. Dean doesn't trust his voice so he just pleads with his eyes and nods.

Cas take a moment to run his finger over Dean's lips, "I don't know what I did to deserve you." Dean is saved from responding by Cas pushing into his mouth and for a long while he thinks of nothing at all but the tight heat of Baby around him and Cas' thick dick down his throat.

A coiled heat starts to build in Dean's gut, but it keeps spreading until he feels pushed outside of his body. He's floating outside of himself watching himself being given exactly what he asked for. The feeling builds and he can see Baby and Cas with their heads thrown back, bottom lips pulled between their teeth.

He's floating and everything is perfect. He can feel his orgasm building, but it feels secondary, small in comparison to the feeling of being surrounded by the people he loves, of being taken care of by the people he loves. 

He hears Baby's soft cry and feels her body clench around him. Cas stutters and says, "Dean, I'm going to…" Dean wants to tell him it's ok, he can take it, but Cas pulls out and comes all over his lips. And, yeah, Cas is a genius. It's the feeling of Cas' come on his face that finally pushes him over the edge. He comes still inside of Baby. The world shorts out electrically all around him. When he comes back to himself Cas is lying on his right side, but Baby is nowhere to be seen. Cas is rubbing his thumb over Dean’s mouth with a worried look on his face, “Dean, I--” Dean cuts off his worry by sucking Cas’ jizz covered thumb into his mouth.

“It's all good, Cas. I'm good. In fact I'm perfect.”

Cas looks at him, too serious for someone who just jizzed all over his face, “Yes. You are.”

Dean doesn't know why that makes him blush when being covered by Cas’ spunk seems perfectly normal. Before he has to reply, Baby returns with a wet washcloth. Dean frowns at her and she laughs. “You'll thank me later when you don't have dried jizz on your face.”

Before Baby can wipe his face, Cas leans down and swipes at his face with his tongue before kissing him roughly. When Cas finally pulls back he leans his forehead to Dean’s and says, “I love you, Dean.”

It's not that Dean doesn't know he loves Cas, but the words get stuck in his throat. Nothing comes out of his open mouth, but Cas smiles anyway. Cas kisses him softly and pulls back. He watches Cas take the washcloth from Baby and gently wipes his face clean. Baby and Cas settle on either side of him, but he's asleep before he can appreciate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Threesomes are very complicated. I apologize for any awkwardness.


	18. The Economical Thing To Do

Dean’s not asleep very long. He wakes up to quiet voices above him.

“He’s going to miss you when you’re gone,” Cas says. Cas' words are punctuated by his fingers tightening on Dean’s hip.

“I won’t be gone though. I’ll still be with you both.”

Dean feels Baby lean over him and hears the sound of lips on lips. He slits his eyes open to watch. According to Sam, Baby is a little bit _him_ , he can certainly see it in the way she kisses Cas now, a little like he might break and a little like she might break. Dean wonders what that means about how she kisses him. The amount of selfcest implicit in what they just did is not zero and therefore a little too much for Dean’s brain to inspect that deeply. He can’t help the way he huffs out a laugh at that.

Immediately two sets of eyes are on Dean. “What time is it?” he asks.

“It’s 2:07,” Cas replies without the aid of a clock.

Baby sits up completely and says, “I’m going to get up. I want to spend some time with Sam before I return.”

“Yeah. Alright. You’re right. We should get up,” Dean says trying to make it sound convincing.

Baby just laughs and leans down to kiss him on the nose. She steps out of bed and slips on her clothes before Dean or Cas have done more than push themselves up on their elbows. “Ok, boys, don’t take too long,” she throws back at them as she walks out the door.

Dean drops back to the bed.

He tilts his head to look at Cas. Cas' gaze feels like like a physical thing. It makes Dean's breath catch.

"Dean," Cas says, low and unsure, "I want..."

"What, Cas? Anything you want."

Cas leans down slowly, eyes trained on Dean's lips, until their lips brush together in a barely there kiss. Cas lifts his head and watches Dean silently.

Dean pulls himself together enough to ask, "Is that what you wanted?"

Cas eyes twinkle in a way that suggests a smile, but his face is still serious when he replies, "Among other things."

"Yeah, ok. Um. Other things are...yeah...also cool."

"But I think your brother might appreciate if we showered before we join them." Cas has a little frown line between his eyes at his own suggestion.

"You're probably right, but we could...I mean, we don't have to, but if you wanted to we could shower together?" Dean doesn't know why he sounds like a virgin asking out a prom date, but Cas' seems agreeable, nodding his head slightly.

"Yes, that seems like the economical thing to do."

Dean laughs and pulls him down for another kiss, longer and less chaste, but just as Dean is starting to think the shower isn't that important, Cas pulls away, holding Dean at arms length to prevent him from initiating another kiss. Dean starts to press up against the weight of Cas' arm, but Cas looks wrecked.

"Is it always going to feel this way?" Cas asks, eyes closed.

Dean runs his hand up and down the arm Cas is using to keep them apart and Cas shivers. "What way?"

Cas opens his eyes. "Like getting out of your bed is the worst idea I've ever had. Like doing anything except holding you down and fucking you until you can't walk is a waste of my time,"

"Shit."

"Like I want to mark you up," Cas says, and it's punctuated by the fingers on Dean's chest pressing harder, "so that if we do have to leave this room everyone will know you're mine."

Dean closes his eyes to formulate a response. His hardening dick has one answer, but Cas sounds genuinely concerned. And, yeah, Dean gets it. It's all a bit much. Since he became human, Cas has gotten easier to read, his emotions closer to the surface, but most of time reserved would still be an understatement. It makes sense that Cas might be struggling with an overload of emotions.

"I mean, uh, I don't know, exactly. But, uh, this...us...this thing has been a long time coming and, I think, um, what you're feeling now is...yeah, I get it. And if that's, you know, if you want...that...you should know that, uh, I'm not, uh, opposed, but, uh, we have time and I'm not going anywhere. Anything you want, any time you want it, but not because you think I'm going to go out there and pretend I'm not in love with you, the way I've been doing for years. Which, yes, was maybe a dick move, but this is it Cas." He opens his eyes finally, "I'm all in."

Cas is staring down at him with a dopey smile on his face. The hand on his chest is resting lightly, and no longer feels like a barrier between them.

"So, are we ok? Are you ok?" Dean asks.

"Yes, Dean. I'm ok, but maybe, since you offered, I could just," Cas' gaze dips to his neck speculatively. Cas pulls Dean's hands into his and gently presses them over his head before leaning in and nosing at the area behind his ear. He gently maps the area with his lips before he finds what must be the perfect spot and proceeds to turn Dean inside out with a combination of kissing, sucking and and unexpected use of teeth. Dean does his best to just lay there and let Cas take what he needs, but he can't stop the profanity leaking from his lips.

Once Cas is satisfied he sits up and inspects his work. He lets go of Dean's hands to trace his fingers over what must be an impressive mark. Heat floods his cheeks thinking about the look on Cas' face when he said he wanted everyone to know Dean was his. The only look on Cas face on the moment is a look of smug satisfaction. Dean brings his hands to Cas' face. Dean takes a breath to steady himself before asking, "Happy now?"

"Yes. Very."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reliably informed I should up the rating to E. When I first started this, I didn't think an actual threesome was in the cards, and then once I wrote it I guess I didn't think about the rating.


End file.
